James and the Giant Peach
by hurricanehairandemeraldeyes
Summary: After a Christmas "prank" goes awry, James Potter is forced to volunteer at his university's library. He dreads serving out his punishment until he meets a short redheaded girl named Lily. Muggle AU. Modern. (Part 2 of 2)
1. Part One

It was only the eighth hour of his fifty-hour punishment and James had already threatened to quit school twice.

A lanky 19 year old uni student, James Potter was trapped at the library reception desk. He had spent most of his shift doodling in his sketchbook but found himself to be uninspired in the dreary building. Instead he focused on having a staring contest with the wall clock, willing it to tick just the _tiniest_ bit faster.

Realizing for the nth time that he does not have magic powers and is thus unable to speed up time, James resigned himself to moping about his situation.

' _This is all Mum and Dad's fault,'_ he pouted.

Indeed, it was fair to say that Euphemia and Fleamont Potter played a significant role in their son's current state of despair because they had once again sucked him into the annual Who Makes the Christmasiest Christmas Tunes: Michael vs. Mariah™ debate.

Ever since Michael Bublé's Christmas debut in 2011, the holiday season was a war zone at Potter Manor. That first year, James would often overhear shouts of 'God Mia, post 2000s Mariah Carey isn't an accurate reflection of her work!' and 'I don't give a shit Monty, Michael literally _birthed_ Christmas.'

Twice, James returned home after practice to discover that this mother had replaced every single picture of Fleamont with a cutout of Michael Bublé. Fleamont retaliated by changing her ringtone to play Mariah's _All I Want for Christmas Is You_ and proceeding to call her multiple times everyday.

Tensions between the two escalated throughout November until it came to physical blows. James Henry Potter, a mere twelve years old at the time, had actually walked in on his parents _wrestling_ over the issue. The sounds of their grunting and shrieking permanently scarred his young mind. Disappointed by his parents' inability to just _use their words,_ James showcased his displeasure by avoiding them for the rest of the year.

(Well, excluding the fact that he had to talk to his mum during the drive to school and that he had to help his dad make dinner, and that it was practically impossible to be silent during family game nights)

The next winter, James attempted to stop the debate before it got started. As soon as he finished trick-or-treating, James gathered his parents in the living room and adamantly declared that Michael and Mariah were equally brilliant artists, but that the _Now! The Christmas Album,_ was actually the greatest Christmas album of all time and quietly pleading, ' _Could we please just not fight about this anymore?'_.

In response, Fleamont refused to give him a single slice of treacle tart for a month and his mother took Peter, Remus, and Sirius to watch the Puddlemere United football match without him.

Needless to say, James quickly learned to stay out of it.

After years of enduring such bickering, by fourteen, he had developed a foolproof system. When returning home from school or practice, he resolve to specifically use the West entrance of the manor, easilybypassing Fleamont's study, in which his father would most likely force James to harmonize with him as he attempted to hit notes well out of his vocal range. Instead of doing his homework in the living room (which was readily accessible to snacks in the kitchen), James went straight to his bedroom, effectively avoiding his mother's attempts to drown out his father's singing with the living room speakers.

When the three of them would make the two hour drive to his cousins', he would quietly seethe in the backseat, holding himself back fromflipping out at his parents' for bickering over the music because apparentlylistening to _Silent Night_ all the way through at least once was _too goddamn much_ to ask.

Although his system was imperfect, James found that he got on well enough.

That was until Sirius Black moved in, the summer before Year 12.

After Walburga Black heard that her eldest had been having a romantic tryst with another boy, she violently stormed into his bedroom and made her displeasure known with the use of a wooden cane. Sirius, though accustomed to the verbal abuse, had never been physically harmed by his mother before that night.

And he never gave her the chance to do so again.

Once his mother left his bedroom, Sirius escaped from the house and found refuge in Potter Manor. James was incredibly grateful that his friend was no longer trapped in a toxic environment and worked to make sure Sirius felt as comfortable in his home as possible. The transition from best mates to brothers was relatively seamless with the boys getting along quite happily.

But then came November.

Although James had informed his friends about the intensity of the great Who Makes the Christmasiest Christmas Tunes: Michael vs. Mariah debate, they all believed he was being dramatic.

Consequently, Sirius ignored all of James' survival tips.

Instead of avoiding the situation as he was instructed, Sirius catered to both sides of the debate, simultaneously screwing James over in the process. After his football practices, James would return home to find Sirius in deep conversation with Euphemia about which Bublé was the "most Bublé," (whatever that meant), even though he could have sworn he saw Sirius helping his father hide all of the Bublé CDs the night before. On Friday afternoons, Sirius would _voluntarily_ go Christmas carolling with Euphemia instead of attending James' football matches. Sirius was even late to a group project meeting that was at _their own house_ , because he was helping Fleamont make a 17 slide powerpoint that demonstrated Mariah's vocal superiority.

James spent that entire holiday season hearing about how _wonderfully cultured_ Sirius' was and 'Oh thank God that one of my sons actually has taste'. This, more than anything, truly hurt James. He was only _twelve_ when he made that Christmas CD recommendation and _'his tastes had changed so could they let it go please'?_

Of course, he was ignoring the fact that his most frequently played playlist was titled ' _Best of Now That's What I Call Christmas!'._

He had additionally forgotten that the family shared a joint Spotify account, leaving his true musical tastes exposed.

In any case, James was dismayed by Sirius' antics and hoped that his parents would see through his obvious bullshit. But alas, Euphemia and Fleamont were swindled by Sirius' charismatic and devious nature.

As a result of his kissassery, Sirius would receive much more extravagant presents than James over the years. Last Christmas, his parents gave Sirius received a new motorbike, and him a hair grooming kit (for the second time that year). James swore that he had had enough.

The debate would end once and for all the following year.

So he enlisted his fellow Marauders for help.

As well as the very (un)willing Hogwarts University student body.

After weeks of research, Remus had finally figured out how to access the school's speaker system and emergency text-alert system. Every day during the first week of November, the boys would select a song from both artists and play them multiple times over the speakers, sending out a mass text that directed students to vote for which song they thought was better.

They made through four days of this Mariah vs. Michael text battle (each artist had won twice) and were about to start the final battle when they were pulled into the Deputy Headmistress' office.

According to Minerva McGonagall, what they were doing was "inappropriate" and "unnecessary". And if there had been a "fire" it would have been a "distraction".

Remus and Peter broke easily, immediately admitting their wrongdoing and apologizing for their actions. Consequently, the two received one temporary infraction on their records, as well as 20 sanctioned community service hours. Remus was happy at the turn of events, as he got to volunteer at the campus LGBTQ resource center (where he already spent a lot of his free time) and his computer science professor was so impressed with his abilities that he was excused from his final. Peter did not reap any academic benefits from the prank, but had a cushy set up in the Admissions office, where he solicited donations from alumnae over the phone in between binge watching episodes of _The Crown._

On the other hand, James and Sirius refused to acknowledge any misdeeds because _'We were just bringing holiday cheer professor'._ The boys believed that Minnie did not actually have empirical evidence against them, so they claimed that they were being unjustly slandered by the university. Sirius was halfway through his second soliloquy on his innocence, snapping his fingers as if at a slam poetry share,when Minerva promptly pulled out the receipts.

Turns out Sirius had posted pictures of the boys tallying votes on their uni's Snapchat story.

Hiding her amusement at the boys' reaction to being caught (' _Goddamnit Sirius! Can you stop taking selfies for once.' 'My fans were begging me Prongs, how could I say no?')_ Minerva swiftly dolled out her punishments.

One temporary infraction on their records and 50 hours of sanctions. **Each.**

With no control over their assignments!

Sirius was assigned cafeteria shifts, which was actually a fucking _joke_ because the workers all knew that he was going to be a hindrance in the kitchen if he actually did physical labor. Instead, they had him simply recount tales of his "adventures" for a few hours and test taste biscuits.

Originally, James argued that Sirius should be bringing home a share of the baked goods as he was adding quite a bit of dramatic license in his retellings, making himself protagonist of most of the stories. Sirius responded with a haughty scoff and claimed that James trying to "silence his narrative."

Remus snickered. "Pads you can't be silent about anything."

"It is that a challenge, Moony?" Sirius' eyes flashed towards his boyfriend.

"It can if you want it to be," Remus smirked and bit his lip.

James immediately noticed that the conversation was once again about to swiftly transition from "bromantic banter" to "come here so I can fuck you flirting" and made himself scarce. And resolved not to complain about their sanctions again.

Until he realized he was sentenced to the fucking library.

The bespectacled football star had pushed off serving his sentence for ages, and was forced to work 15 hours a week in order to finish before holiday break. He spent that time at the most boring place on campus, reshelving books, answering asinine questions (' _No I can't sell you that book, but I can certainly LOAN it to you!)_ and scrolling through his phone when he was out of Madam Pince's line of vision.

 **1:54 PM**

 **Chat: will smith's first name is willard not william**

Prongs: alright Pince's gone

Prongs: now can we finally take a moment to talk about me

Prongs: I ….James Henry Potter...have died.

Padfoot: oh no

Wormtail: can i have your computer then? half my keyboard doesn't work when it gets cold

Moony: I call dibs on his sweaters!

Moony: They're ugly but I could maybe sell a few and earn enough $$$ for some chocolate.

Prongs: first of all I made most of my sweaters myself

Padfoot: oh he knows

Prongs: second of all -rude

Prongs: third of all my aesthetic is worth more than some chocolate

Moony: Godiva truffles tho?

Prongs: ...fine

 **2:19 P.M.**

Prongs: life update i'm still dead

Padfoot: life update still no one cares

Prongs: i hate you

Padfoot: here are all the fucks I give.

.

.

.

Prongs: moony how do you put up with his shit

Moony: He's an arse there is no changing that.

Padfoot: hey!

Moony: a cute arse tho

Padfoot: i prefer outrageously sexy but thx

Moony: ily

Padfoot: ilysm

Padfoot: *sends kiss*

Wormtail: stop

 **2:51 p.m.**

 **Chat: Happy Christmas to my Bitches and Happy Hanukkah to my Bae**

Padfoot: this elf on the shelf looks like snivellus

Moony: omg

Moony: How many times do I have to tell you that I hate the word Bae!

Moony: (But also yes it does)

Padfoot: everyday for the rest of our lives my sweet

Wormtail: stop fucking texting in this chat

Wormtail: the messages are interrupting my binge watching

Padfoot: that…sounds like a personal problem

Wormtail: ...

Padfoot: but am I wrong?

 **3:27 p.m.**

 **Chat: James has feelings and needs to share them**

Prongs: really i'm a victim here

Moony: how so

Prongs: all I was trying to do was save my parents marriage

Moony: Really

Moony: Or were you trying to end the fight so that Sirius would stop getting better gifts?

Prongs: no! this was entirely selfless!

Prongs: they were literally WRESTLING over this issue - if thats what happened while i was at home they will be way more intense now that im out of the house

Prongs: the fighting wont stop until a winner is declared

Moony: wrestling?

Padfoot: fucking*

Moony: what.

Wormtail: what.

Prongs: ...

Prongs: NOOOOOO

Prongs: that is SO not what happened

Prongs: MY PARENTS WOULD NEVER!

Moony: I mean clearly they did.

Moony: seeing as you exist and all

Prongs: but they're old! they were on the FLOOR.

Prongs: they were wrestling

Padfoot: fucking*

Padfoot: Mia told me all about how she thought her and monty really messed you up afterwards b/c you were awkward around them for weeks

Padfoot: but then she realized that the damage they had already caused you up until then was likely irreparable anyway so they decided against sending you to therapy

Wormtail: …

Moony: Honestly this explains a lot

Upset by the utter _lies_ being spewed by his surrogate brother, James was ready to launch into a passionate tirade, proving that he had not in fact walked in on his parents having intercourse when he noticed a bouncing red blob behind a nearby bookshelf.

It took James a moment to realize that he was actually looking at the messy bun of a young girl, who was jumping in order to reach the upper shelves.

James debated how much longer he should let her struggle before offering his assistance, when he heard a frustrated groan coming from her direction. The bun had ceased its bouncing, and he deduced that the girl had given up on her pursuit.

Eager to stretch his legs for the first time in ages, James bent forward to stand out of his chair. However, once the girl came out from between the bookcases, he found himself frozen with half his body awkwardly sprawled on the uncomfortable mahogany desk.

Breath hitched in his throat, James swiftly stood up to take in a full sight of her.

The girl looked to be around his age but exceptionally short, at least a foot smaller than his towering 6'2, but with disproportionately long legs. His eyes trailed further up her body, pausing at her tight sweater that began to Do Things To Him. As a light flush spread across his cheeks at his reaction, he decided to calm down by looking at her face instead. She was the unfairly pretty sort, with skin that had likely never seen a blemish, a cute nose and soft-looking lips. James' eyes made contact with her own and he shortly realized that she had clearly noticed his staring.

Attempting to salvage his dignity, James adjusted his glasses, gave her a shy wave, and slumped back in his chair. Eyes trained on his sketchbook, he picked up his pencil again and pretended to doodle, making incomprehensible scribbles on the page, silently hoping that the girl had simply written him off as strange and left his proximity. A minute passed, and James felt confident that the girl had surely left by now. His head slowly lifted upwards, only to see the beautiful girl had not only stayed, but was now looking back at him with a single raised eyebrow.

His blush spread to the tips of his ears.

Pretending he hadn't seen her, James tried to refocus on his "sketches", but his rebellious eyes made him follow her as she walked towards the childrens section of the library. The girl reappeared moments later with a step stool in tow.

A cheap plastic stool that definitely was explicitly purchased for ages twelve and below.

James stifled a chuckle. The girl had found the hardly used stool rather quickly and he wondered just how often she had needed it in the past. Soon his thoughts wandered off a bit further. _'How often does she come to the library? How come I haven't seen her around campus before? She was in the medical texts section, is she a med student? Is she CPR certified? If I pretend to choke will she save me?_ His eyes squinted a bit as he pondered that thought. _'Hmm..Probably. If anything, I have a face worth saving.'_ he mused, with his left hand stroking his chin _._

Excited with his new plan, James stood up and began looking around his desk for food to choke on. adly, he has already finished his afternoon snack. ' _Damnit! If there's no food how could I possibly be a damsel in distress'._ Then he had another idea.

"Is it possible to choke on air?" he wondered aloud.

"Huh?" came a confused voice.

Jolted by the sound, James stopped his futile search and adjusted his posture. In his haste to get the girl's attention, he failed to notice that she had approached the reception area with two books and the step stool. Now that she was closer, James could make out the light dusting of freckles that were scattered beneath the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen.

The poet in James wanted to see what other constellations he could find on her skin. The intellectual in him wanted to know why she was reading such advanced chemistry books.

But the prat in James said this:

"You know that the step stools for little children right? Just how short are you?"

Her brow furrowed, "Excuse me?"

"Ah. That came out rudely, sorry. I just..." speaking more nervously now, his hand instinctively ruffled his dark locks. "Being short isn't a bad thing, you know, I mean. I used to be plenty short too until I grew..." he trailed off a bit and held his hands out in defense hoping to placate the jumble of nonsense that just came out of his mouth. "But it's okay that you didn't grow. I mean... you're brilliant they way you are, lovely really."

"Glad to know I have your approval," she said, the ends of her lips curved upwards and dimples appeared in her cheeks.

He looked away and mumbled, "You don't need it."

"I know," she shrugged."But it's nice to hear it." Her eyes then flickered back towards his. Hazel met green and something fluttered in James' stomach. Unused to the feeling, he turned his head away and cleared his throat.

"Erm...right. Well if you could pass me your books I can check you out."

"Thought you already did that," she said with a cheeky grin before sliding the books across the desk.

The tips of James' ears grew red for the second time and he decided to pretend he hadn't heard her comment.

"What's your name?" he asked motioning to the computer.

"Evans, Lily"

A few clacking sounds were heard as he typed. "Evans," he repeated, dragging the name out almost as if he was trying to savor each letter. "You have a book on hold as well."

James then moved to the area behind the desk, where Pince kept all of the holds.

"Yes, _James and the Giant Peach_ I believe."

A gasp escaped from James' mouth when he saw the book's title and nearly dropped it in his excitement. He darted back towards the desk and pointed to the cover of the book. "THAT'S ME!" he whisper shouted.

"You're my favorite literary character?" Lily questioned.

"No," he explained while scanning her books. "I mean, yes in the sense that we have the same name, but I am nowhere near charming enough to be a Roald Dahl protagonist."

"Oh, I was just gonna say...you're certainly much cuter than I imagined him to be," she shot him a coy look.

At this point, James ears' were permanently stained red,so surprised by her outright flirting that he forgot to say something back.

Sensing his awkwardness, Lily rambled on by herself.

"I've always loved his books. My mum used to read his books to me whenever I got upset when I was little. My sister thought the stories were "freakish" and used to tease me all the time about liking them, but how could you not!? He's a brilliant author."

She looked at the book fondly.

"I was nervous about bringing my copy to uni in case I lost it in the move, so I ordered it from the library instead."

Finding her passion for the childrens' books quite cute, James found himself wanting to hear more.

"I'm partial to _The BFG_ myself."

She beamed, "Yeah, that's one of my other favorites!"

' _Your face is one of my favorites,'_ he thought dreamily as Lily explained her love for the Big Friendly Giant in detail.

"His words just totally transport you to a magical world," she added

' _I could transport you to a "magical" world.'_

"Everything he writes is incredible!"

"You're incredible."

"What?" she asked giving him an odd look.

Wait... did he just say that out loud?

"I mean," his hands again rushed through his mop of hair.

"You're incredible for like for liking the book so much. Uh... I love when people are really vocal about their love of Dahl you know?"

"Right..." she quirked a brow, "Because that's totally a normal thing to say."

"Totally!" He nodded in excitement, completely failing to recognize her sarcasm.

"Right. Well," she bit her lip and motioned towards the door. "I'll just be off then."

Lily then grabbed her books in one hand and the step stool in the other.

"Don't worry about it," James said pointing to the stool. "I've got you-er the stool I mean."

A pretty blush rose on her cheeks at his slip and she hurriedly grabbed her books off the desk. "Thanks, James. I guess I'll see you around then."

A stupidly wide grin spread itself across his face at the thought of seeing her again, "Yeah, I'm stuck here for the month so I'll keep an eye out."

Lily offered back a soft smile of her own and walked towards the exit, sparing him a quick glance over her shoulder as she left. He returned the gesture with another jerky half wave, but her back had already turned before she could see it.

James finally let his hand drop down to his side after waving for an embarrassingly long time.

' _What the hell was that?'_ James glared at his hand and groaned internally. _'We talked about this before we left the house, use your words, James, you have to use your words!'_

He then fell back into his seat and emitted another soft groan.

' _Agh,'_ his shoulders slumped, _'I should have asked for her number. WHY didn't I get her number?'_

Irritated with himself, James then reached for his phone to ask for help.

Prongs: *Changed chat name to* **i need guidance ASAP as possible**

Prongs: Officially Invoking Marauder Rule #9

Wormtail: damnit

Wormtail: i always thought moony would be the first one of us to be arrested

Moony: I'm sorry why would it be me over Pads?

Padfoot: i'm quite sneaky

Padfoot: i've never been caught stealing

Wormtail: don't you mean you'd never _be_ caught stealing

Padfoot:...yes

Moony: Wormy Rule #9 is "I made a bad first impression and I need your help to make me look less of a prat next time".

Moony: And we are circling back to your thievery later.

Padfoot: boo

Wormtail: why is that rule so specific

Padfoot: we made it with james in mind

Prongs: stop being gits and help me! i am in need of assistance

Moony: last time you said that we got sanctioned by the school

Prongs:shut up! this is different.

Prongs: as you all know i was in a really grumpy mood all day and distraught at being trapped in the FUCKING LIBRARY but then! An actual goddess walkd into my life and she was so cute and dorky about roald dahl and i wanted to be all charming and suave and the like but i just wound up sort of mking fun of her bout how short she was not that bein short is bad or anyting i really rEALLY REALLY like her height b/c she wuld make the best littl spoon if we cuddle and i wnat to be her friend so much guys !no wait no i want to be SPECIAL frieneds who do romantic activitiies together but when she speaks my tummy feels funnY and i neeed HELP

Wormtail: she makes your "tummy feel funny"

Padfoot: are u 5?

Moony: yes

Wormtail: yes

Prongs: yes

Moony: You're also kind of a prat Prongs.

Prongs: I'd argue but I have no evidence

Padfoot: doesn't matter anyway

Padfoot: I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea

Moony: No you don't.

Moony: History has proven that.

Padfoot: *Gasps*

Padfoot: stop using HBO shows to insult me

Padfoot: but FINE w.e. i have AN idea

Prongs: YOU'RE SO LOYAL I LOVE IT

Padfoot: settle down

Padfoot: anyway here's what your gonna do….


	2. Part Two

With eager steps and a notecard tightly grasped in his palm, James entered the library. His knapsack hug loosely from his shoulders and he absentmindedly tugged on the straps.

Today was going to be a good day, because _today_ James Henry Potter had a plan.

James smirked to himself. The night before, Remus, Sirius, and Peter had helped him come up with a "Jamesproof" plan for getting Lily's number. The six steps were outlined on the notecard in Sirius' messy scrawl:

 **Getting the Girl: A Guide for Dummies**

 **Step 1: Find and hide the step stool**

 **Step 2: Wait (patiently) for the pretty redhead to enter the library**

 **Step 3: When she struggles to reach books on the upper shelves, offer your services**

 **Step 4: Use the opportunity as her Helpful Hero** **™ to** **charm her** **with a library based pick up line** (Remus had crossed this line out at Sirius' displeasure). **And get her to giggle/twirl her hair/smile**

 **Step 5: Say "Hey Lily could I have your number?"**

 **Step 6: If she says yes refrain from doing you celebratory "irish" jig until** **after** **she leaves the building**

 **Step 7: If she says no, immediately IMMEDIATELY retreat**

His eyes scanned over the words a few more times and he took a reassuring breath. Confident that he could handle steps 1 and 2 with minimal difficulty, James strolled towards the children's section. As he walked, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket to update his fellow marauders on his progress.

 **Chat: all praise Lin Manuel Miranda**

Prongs: alright i've made it

Prongs: i feel Lin guiding me as i sneak in

Moony: The library opens at 9. How is it sneaking in if the building is already open?

Padfoot: shush don't question it

Padfoot: i like the drama

Prongs: the books wait in bated breath as i walk past them in search of the stepstool

Wormtail: books can't breathe -they dont even have lungs

Padfoot: NEITHER DO PLANTS DUMBASS

Padfoot: just ignore him prongs

Prongs: now I am sliding my back against the wall to avoid being seen by Pince

Padfoot: *cue pink panther theme song*

Moony: This is the easiest part of the plan.

Moony: Literally all you have to do is walk.

Prongs: just did a somersault across the aisle

Moony: That is a **damn** lie Prongs.

Wormtail: you've never been able to do a somersault

Wormtail: you just flop over

Prongs: whew had to do a backflip over a table there

Prongs: stuck the landing tho no big

Padfoot: go prongs GOOOOOO

Prongs: alright i'm in

Padfoot: what a flawless execution

 **Chat: Moony to Prongs**

Moony: I think you should know that Pads followed you to the library and took a video of you knocking over that cart of books.

Prongs: god damnit

James looked up from his phone and saw his surrogate brother waving at him through a nearby window, a cheeky grin plastered across his face. He gave Sirius the two fingered salute before texting him to bugger off.

 **Chat: piss off pads**

Prongs: i have acquired the step stool

Prongs: and shall hide it in a secret cavern were none shall find it

Moony: So behind the reception desk then?

Prongs: exactly

Though James did manage to locate the stool, he failed to do so in a discreet manner and consequently drew the wrath of Madam Pince. Normally, listening to the librarian whisper shout at him with her pinched face and faux French accent would be amusing, but today, James was too busy trying to stop his stomach from committing mutiny to really enjoy it.

After Pince finished telling him off, James quicky dashed over to the reception desk and placed the stool underneath it. Pleased with his success, he haphazardly tossed the notecard across the desk, failing to notice that it had fallen to the ground, as he reached into his bag for his sketchbook.

James' sketchbook was filled with drawings of people, some half finished and others incredibly detailed. He quickly scanned the library for a muse but came up short, so he decided to free draw instead.

His pencil swiftly danced across the page, with soft lines connecting to form an outline of a pair of almond eyes. In between scanning peoples' books, James added details to his work; the slope of a nose, splashes of freckles on the cheekbones, and sharp eyebrows.

After an hour, James brushed off a few stray eraser shavings and stretched out his arm to get a different view of his sketch. He cocked his head and stuck out his tongue while analyzing the drawing. Despite their beauty, James couldn't help but feel that the eyes were _lacking_ somehow, as if they could only truly be brought to life with a splash of color.

He was about to place his sketchbook back on the desk and search for a green coloured pencil when he heard a frustrated groan behind him. Swivelling around in his chair, his back subconsciously straightened at the sight of a grumpy Lily Evans shuffling out of the children's section.

Distracted by the skip of his heart beat, James forgot that he was holding his sketchbook as he caught Lily's attention with a wave. Her face lit up at the sight of him and she changed her direction to make her way over to the desk. As she got closer, she paused briefly, her eyes transfixed on his drawing, still in plain view.

James immediately realized where his inspiration had come from and closed the book with a snap. He squeezed his eyes and prayed:

' _God -Lin Manuel Miranda -if you're out there please please make sure Lily didn't realize who I was drawing.'_

"Hey," said Lily, having reached the desk. She gestured to the sketchbook, "Why did you put it away? I didn't get a good look."

' _THANK YOU LIN'_

"I know," said James inching the sketchbook further away from her. "I don't really like to show my sketches before their finished, sorry."

She shrugged. "That's okay, from what I could tell it was beautiful though. You are a wonderful artist."

The tips of James ears' grew hot at her compliment, and he ran his fingers through his hair before responding, "Thanks, Lily. I love to draw. I'd spend my whole life doing it if I could."

Lily tilted her head, "I didn't take you for the tortured artist type," she asked.

"Guess there's a lot you don't know about me Evans," he grinned shyly. "Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, you haven't seen the step stool around have you?"

James desperately wanted to jump up and down at her question, because ' _Holy shit this might actually work'_ but he settled for bouncing on the balls of his feet instead.

"No I'm sorry I haven't. But I can help you if you want."

"Sure," she nodded, "You might be tall enough to reach it."

The two walked a few aisles down to where the biology texts were and Lily pointed out the one she needed.

James smirked, "I _might_ be tall enough to reach it?" he grabbed the book and teasingly held it over her head. "It's clearly at my eye level."

"Ugh don't be a prat Potter," Lily tried (and failed) to hide her grin, as she jumped to reach it.

"Oh please Evans, you know I surpass all of your _Great Expectations."_

Lily giggled at his terrible pun and, James felt rather pleased with himself.

' _That's step four!'_ he thought excitedly. ' _This is your moment James!'_

James opened his mouth to ask for her number, but he shortly realized that a bouncing tight sweatered Lily Evans was 10x more distracting than a stationary tight sweatered Lily Evans. He flushed slightly before adjusting his eyes and passing her the book. Their fingers tingling as they brushed against one another.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Pince had appeared at the end of the aisle. "I need you to come and restock the shelves in this section."

' _NoNoNoNoNo'_

His jaw clenched, "I am sort of with someone right now."

"I can help her," she ushered Lily over to the reception desk. "The book cart is that way Potter," and she pointed in the opposite direction.

"See you later James," Lily said, and followed Madam Pince to check out her book. James walked away dejectedly, while Lily handed her books to the librarian and picked something off the ground. She smiled and bit her lip, glancing at James over her shoulder.

With his back to Lily, James sulked a bit before attempting to cheer himself up.

' _Don't worry James,'_ he thought, _'I'm sure you can get her number next time.'_

He did not get it next time.

Nor the time after that. Nor after that.

In fact, Lily Evans had visited the library almost everyday for two weeks and James had failed to get her number on each occasion.

He was always successful in helping her _retrieve_ the books, but fell short when it came to the other aspects of the plan.

When she would come to him for help, he would graciously oblige and don the title of "helpful hero" with little issue. James would often tease her whenever he got her books, especially later as the texts became more obscure ( _What kinda class needs you to know about the flora and fauna of Eastern European villages, Evans? Shut up Potter don't make fun of me for being a scholar)._ But he silently thanked Lin for giving her such a class schedule, because almost all of the books she needed were on the upper shelves.

James' main problem was with the "be Charming" step. (The first time he made her laugh, _really_ laugh, he was so pleased by the sound that his grip slackened and he dropped the _Anna Karenina_ that he was trying to shelve on his head. Lily had been very apologetic for distracting him but Pince insisted that she leave for being a nuisance).

And even though he got more comfortable around her as the days went on, by the time he finally worked up the courage to ask the question, his mouth either went dry,or he was interrupted by someone else. (James blamed his bad luck on misplacing his guide, so Sirius refused to make another one on principle.)

It wasn't an entirely failed mission though, as in the days that followed his head injury, Lily got into the habit of following him around in order to ensure that he didn't get injured again. Whenever he turned his back, Lily would giggle while quickly rearranging the stacks on the cart so it took him longer to finish.

She _loved_ to do that.

He pretended to hate when she did.

Their relationship was little more than hushed conversations and stifled laughter in between the shelves, but James fell for her regardless.

Which made his last day at the library all the more stressful.

 **Chat: Don't fork this up prongs**

Moony: Sooooooooooooo...

Moony: Finals end tomorrow

Moony: This is probably gonna be your last shot with Lily.

Prongs: I KNOW. I KNOW.

Padfoot: you have to do it today prongs!

Prongs: stop! Your stressing me out

Padfoot: YOURE stressed? I bet 40 quid you would have her number by the end of term.

Padfoot: idk y i put so much faith in you

Prongs: you BET on me?

Padfoot: did you really not expect us too

Moony: I bet she would have asked you for your number after the first week.

Prongs: et tu Moony

Moony: Mostly out of pity though

Wormtail: i bet that you could get it in 3 days

Prongs: i appreciate the vote of confidence

Wormtail: ...but then Moony reminded me who you were so i changed it to the end of the school year :)

Wormtail: aka you should take your time

 _*Prongs has left the chat:_ _ **Don't fork this up Prongs**_ *

James then stuffed his phone back into his pocket and continued restocking the shelves, muttering to himself about his less than supportive "best" mates.

' _Those arses,'_ he slams down a copy of _In Cold Blood._

' _Can't believe they would bet against me.'_ The reshelved books bang against the wooden shelves, but James is oblivious to the sound.

' _I am James fucking Potter.'_ He puffs his chest out, nodding to himself encouragingly. _'I got this.'_

"Potter!" a sharp voice causes him to deflate from his superhero pose. Madam Pince was marching towards him, her fingers tight around the legs of the step stool. "How many times do I have tell you to stop putting this underneath the desk? Put it back _now."_

Grumbling to himself, James took the stool out of her hands before shuffling towards the Winnie the Pooh collection and tossing it down a nearby alcove. As he turned back around he saw Lily Evans, wearing another deliciously tight sweater, smiling up at him.

"Hey, James" she said.

As Lily gazed up at him, James felt the familiar sensation of a knotted stomach and dry mouth return. However, he quickly remembered that this could very well be his last opportunity to see her, so he made himself speak.

"H-hey Lily," he stammered. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great now actually. And you?"

The side of his mouth curled upwards, "I am doing fine too." He took a deep gulp before forcing the words that had frequently evaded him to rush out. "Listen, I was wondering if I could get your num-"

"PRONGS!" a familiar shout came from the entrance of the library.

"Fucking arsehole," Lily pressed her lips together and muttered under her breath. She then turned her head away from James.

A feeling of dread washed over James at her annoyed demeanour. He was about to apologize for irritating her when he realized that Lily's discontent wasn't directed at him. Rather, she was glowering at the reception desk.

Unfortunately, James' relief was short lived, as he noticed just whom was on the receiving end of Lily's glare.

' _What the hell is Sirius Black doing at the library?'_

James' adopted brother, sporting his beloved motorcycle jacket and a pair of ripped jeans, stood adjacent from Madam Pince. Due to his inability to use an inside voice, he had earned the ire of the librarian and was currently being chewed out for his bad behavior. However, Sirius blatantly ignored her reprimands and chose to instead swirl his head around the building, as if searching for something.

Soon he caught James' gaze and his mouth immediately spread into a mischievous grin. He lifted his shoulders and gave James a wave of his fingers before motioning towards the other person in his company.

' _Correction,'_ thought James, _'What the hell is Sirius Black doing at the library_ _with Mum?"_

Wide-eyed and frozen, James could do little else but stare at his best mate and mother, consequently failing to register the sound of Lily's voice.

"James," Lily tugged on the end of his sweater sleeve. "What were you about to ask me?"

"Oh, erm," James said distracted by Sirius and his mum, who were quickly approaching. "I was just going to ask if I could have-"

"Jamie!" Euphemia called out with her arms outstretched. James body tensed up as he was enveloped in a warm hug. Sirius smiled broadly at his discomfort and wiggled his eyebrows before shooting Lily a cheeky wink.

"Hi there Red," said Sirius.

"Hello," Lily responded cautiously.

"No need to be nervous," Sirius patted James on the back. "We're this git's family."

Lily took in the similarities between the mother and son, namely their chaotic black hair, and nodded. Sirius then leaned over to whisper in Lily's ear, causing her to blush.

James frowned in their direction and pulled away from his mother.

"How are you dear?" asked Euphemia.

"Er," James' eyes flicked over to where Lily and Sirius were now giggling and absentmindedly ruffled his hair. "I'm doing alright, Mum, but," he looked back at Euphemia. "Uh... why are you here?"

His mother responded by raising her eyebrows, crossing her arms and letting out a small _hmph._ Sirius snorted at his bluntness.

James held his palms forward and clarified quickly, "Not that I don't _want_ you here. I'm just surprised to see you is all."

Euphemia squeezed his hands. "I was in the neighborhood and wanted to pop over and see my boys."

"We live two hours away though…" said James.

Euphemia brushed aside her son's question with a wave of her hand. She then noticed Sirius, who was slightly pointing his head towards a very pretty redhead. Clucking her tongue in disapproval, Euphemia admonished James, "Where are your manners?" she questioned. "You forgot to introduce me to Lily!"

James face paled.

' _How the ever loving FUCK does she know who Lily is?_

Slightly slack-jawed at his mother's behavior, James quickly answered his own question when he heard muffled snickers. He turned his head to see Sirius with his hand over his mouth.

James groaned., _'Of bloody course Pads would tell Mum about her.'_

Lily laughed and extended her hand, "Hello, nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter. I'm Lily."

Euphemia shook her hand, "I know dear, I've heard _so_ much about you."

Sirius was practically shaking with laughter now, as he tried to contain his amusement.

Lily's lips curled upwards and she looked at James, "You told your Mum about me?"

Immediately, all the color returned to James face.

To salvage his dignity, James was about to vehemently deny the accusation, but his mother cut him off before he could speak.

"Oh no. He absolutely refuses to tell me about his love life." Lily's cheeks flushed and matched James' at her choice of words.

"Sirius," she pointed to the snorting man beside her, "has been sending me screenshots of their conversations." James squawked indignantly. "But that's not relevant. How are your finals going Lily?"

"Well, I finished them about two weeks ago actually but…"

James, who was feeling more than a little frustrated with his friend's betrayal, tuned out their conversation in order to focus on trying to choke Sirius with his mind.

Recognizing the strained look on his friend's face, Sirius rolled his eyes and whispered, "Prongs, will you stop trying to kill me? You look like a right prat and I don't know how many times we have to tell you that you don't have super powers."

James moved closer to Sirius and gave him a firm smack on the arm. "Padfoot," he hissed, "How could you tell Mum about Lily?"

Sirius pouted, rubbing his arm gingerly, and whispered back. "Look, I'm sorry alright. I only texted her so we could make fun of your struggles like usual, but she was oddly invested in this. Her patience broke the other day when I told her about how you basically gave yourself a concussion."

James' mouth fell open, "Like usual!?"

Sirius rolled his eyes again, "That's not the point. Mia said that the only way you and Lily were going to happen was with her help."

Rubbing his eyes underneath his specs, James sighed. "Pads, I am so bloody irritated with you right now."

"I know mate, but" he pointed towards Lily and Euphemia, "right now you should be more concerned with what Mum is telling your potential girlfriend instead."

James whipped his head around towards the conversation on his right, and to his horror his mum was sharing less than impressive details about his youth.

"Oh, James just loved that book growing up! For years he would crawl into bed with me and Fleamont and ask us to read him a chapter before bed. Just between you and me, I think he just used it as an excuse to snuggle."

' _No no no no no,'_ James panicked. He raised his eyes to the ceiling. _'Why is this happening to me, Lin!'_

"Aw, that's so cute!"

"Ignore her Lily!" James interrupted, waving his arms about. "I only did that until I was like four-before I could read."

"It was definitely up to year 5 mate," Sirius added.

James crushed Sirius' toes with his heel and walked towards the two women.

"Anyway," James squeaked and self-consciously cleared his throat. "What are you doing at the library Mum?"

"Well, I just finished up a late lunch with Sirius, Remus, and Peter and I wanted to come see you too." She stood up a bit straighter and narrowed her eyes at her son, "They told me all about your sanctions."

"Thanks for inviting -wait. _My_ sanctions?"

"Yes _your_ sanctions! They told me all about how you got the entire university involved in the annual Who Makes the Christmasiest Christmas Tunes: Michael vs. Mariah™ debate."

"That was you?" Lily asked amused. "Is that why you've been working at the library?"

James nodded sheepishly, "You could say I was _somewhat_ involved, yes."

"But I certainly didn't do it by myself." He scowled at Sirius.

"False!" Sirius cut in.

"He planned it entirely on his own. Red, I was peer pressured into helping."

"That's…a very odd thing to do James!" Lily said with a raised eyebrow. "Why did you feel the need to involve the entire student body in the debate?"

"Mia and Monty have been arguing about which one was the better artist for years." Sirius explained.

"I was only trying to end the fighting," James moaned melodramatically.

"What makes you think that your father or I would give a rat's arse about the opinions of school children?" Euphemia chided him with her hands on her hips. "You should know that your Dad is too thick to ever recognize Michael's superiority even if thousands of people told him so."

"What if Hogwarts had determined that Mariah was better?" asked Lily.

"In that case, everyone is entitled to have an incorrect opinion," Euphemia sniffed,

"Speaking of the Great Debate, Red, where do you stand on the matter?" Sirius asked.

Lily stroked her chin thoughtfully, "Hmmm, I'd say that Mariah overall has the best song out of the two but Michael has the better album."

James chewed his lips nervously at Lily's answer. _'Dammit Evans, why did you not pick Bublé!'_

His mum stared Lily down for a moment and James sucked in a breath. Euphemia soon smiled before giving a quick nod of approval. "I can respect that answer."

' _Blasphemy!'_ James thought.

"How come its fine when Lily says that both artists are good, but when I said it I got passive aggressively punished!" he whisper shouted.

"You weren't punished for that," said Euphemia with a curious look. "You were punished for having shit taste in music in general."

"Yeah Jamie!" Sirius teased as James pouted.

Noticing his sour expression, Lily began rubbing her hand on his arm in a comforting manner. "Aw, don't be sad James. I am sure your music taste isn't _that_ bad."

James instinctively leaned in and smiled at the contact. "Of course you would say that Evans," he puffed out his chest. "You think I can do no wrong."

"Do I?" Lily said smirking, her eyes traced over his face, lingering on his lips a bit too long.

"Of course you do," his grin wider now. "It's biologically impossible not too."

Amused at their interaction, Euphemia made a hasty decision. Clearing her throat pointedly, she drew their attention back towards herself.

"Well, we should be off now, dear. Sirius and I need to get our shopping out of the way before I head home."

The boys stared at her in shock.

" _Christmas_ shopping?" asked James.

"You know I can't go!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Pads and I always wait-"

"-Until Christmas Eve Eve to buy our gifts!"

"You are hijacking our tradition Mia!" Sirius whined.

"I know boys," said Euphemia. "But it always gives me secondhand stress when you procrastinate on shopping, so we are doing things a bit differently this year."

Sirius threw his hands in the air, "Well what is Prongs supposed to do? Shop by himself? That's ridiculous!"

"I'll get lost on my own!"

Sirius nodded his head enthusiastically, "The boy needs guidance, Mia!"

"Well," a mischievous spark glinted in her eyes, "James can go with Lily then." She turned to face the redhead, who was barely hiding her grin. "Are you available sometime soon dear?"

' _No, No, No,_ _Please Lin tell me that this is not actually happening right now.'_

"Mum," said James through clenched teeth, "Lily probably has other stuff going on, you can't just pressure her into-"

"Actually James, I'd love to go with you." James looked at her with wide eyes as she stared down at her shoes. "I'm free tonight actually."

"Great!" Euphemia clasped her hands together. "You two should exchange numbers if you haven't already then." She stood on her toes to kiss James on the cheek. "It was lovely to meet you Lily." With a wave of her hand and a self-satisfied grin, his mum exited the library.

Sirius shot James and Lily a wink over his shoulder, as he trailed behind Euphemia. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you real soon Red," he smirked.

Knowing just how nosy his best mate was, James quickly scanned the library to make sure Sirius had actually left the building. As his eyes swept over the room, he noticed Madam Pince helping someone at the desk. Nervous about being interrupted again, James grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her into the nearby alcove to ensure that they were away from prying eyes.

Amused by his frantic behavior and slightly giddy from the feeling of her hand in his, Lily giggled. "Everything alright there James?"

"What?" he answered distractedly, as he peered in between the empty spaces on the shelves. "Yes, of course, I'm just making sure no one can see us."

"And why is that?"

"Because whenever I finally hit my stride with this," he motioned between them, "someone always interrupts right before I can-"

"Ask for my number?" she finished.

Shuffling his feet awkwardly, he blushed and refused to make eye contact with her.

"Er…yes"

Lily leaned in closer to him and lightly squeezed his hand. "If it makes you feel better, you were really really good at steps 1-4."

His jaw dropped.

"I found this," she said passing him the missing notecard, "handy little guide a couple of weeks ago."

James groaned, "I'm so pathetic." He let go of her hand, and reached up to cover his face with his hands.

' _Of bloody course she was the one to find the guide. Of ALL people, it just had to e Lily bloody Evans?'_

James was set to wallow in his own stupidity for at least a few more moments, but the sound of movement drew his attention. He lifted his head to see Lily Evans, six inches taller, gazing at him expectantly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words hitched in his throat as he took in the sight of her.

The fading afternoon sunlight was streaming in from a nearby window, bathing Lily in an ethereal glow. She had hopped up onto the stool, leaving their faces closer than they had ever been before and James couldn't _breathe._ He was just beginning to understand just how truly _green_ her eyes were, and how her freckles dusted her cheeks, when he felt a hand resting at the base of his neck. Lily then stood on the tips of her toes and brought his face down to hers.

James' body took a second to respond, but then immediately switched to autopilot. He immediately moved his lips in time with hers and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He pressed his body as closely against Lily as he could manage, reveling in her warmth. James tilted his head slightly to get a better angle and Lily moaned happily in response.

Even though there were no exploding fireworks when their lips met, nor did any angels sigh when they parted, the kiss was soft and sweet and so much more than he ever imagined.

To James, it felt like coming home.

To Lily, it felt like the rest of life.

They stood there for a few moments, completely lost in each other, before Lily pulled away, falling back on her heels. She peered up at him through her lashes, her cheeks covered in a faint blush.

"No, what's pathetic is the girl, who came to the library ten times in two weeks just so you could ask her out."

He looked at her with a furrowed brow, surprised.

She continued, "My exams ended ages ago. I only checked out books that were on the higher shelves so I could see you again."

"Yeah?" he grinned shyly.

"Yeah." she said biting her lip.

"So Mr. Potter," she rocked back and forth before leaning in slightly. "Do you have something you want to ask me?"

"Miss Evans," he said reaching for his phone in his back pocket. "Could I get your number?"

Lily gave him a quick peck on the cheek in exchange for his phone and quickly added her contact. She then passed it back to him and hopped down from the stool.

"So I'll see you later tonight then?" she asked.

He nodded eagerly, "Yeah. I can pick you up at 7 and we can go shopping downtown. We could wrap our gifts at my flat afterwards if you want."

"Sure, that sounds great." Lily turned to walk out of the alcove before calling out over her shoulder, "But only if we listen to the _Now That's What I Call Christmas_ Album when while we work!"

James simply beamed.

 **A/n:** sincere apologies for the delay! I rewrote a bunch over the past two weeks. Thanks for reading!


End file.
